Figure 14. The five areas of a sample flex spread. Numbers show the placement order if all areas are used.
When I was learning the tarot, I tried new spreads from time to time, but somehow, I always returned to my old reliables—the few spreads I knew and trusted. They worked for me because they were comfortable and familiar. Eventually, I decided there had to be a better way to make it easier to learn and use new spreads. The result is the flex spread.
The flex spread is a framework for creating different layouts. It's similar to a regular spread, but, instead of having fixed positions, it has areas that “hold” positions of different types. Before you do a reading, you choose the positions for each area based on what you want to explore. In this way, you create a customized spread as simple or elaborate as you wish for any reading situation.
Flex spreads are designed for subject readings because they revolve around a main subject you select beforehand. Open readings do not work well with the flex spread because you do not want to consciously choose positions for these readings.
Figure 14 shows the five areas of the flex spread. The numbers show the card placement order. You number all the positions in an area before moving on to the next. If you don't use an area at all, you simply skip over it and continue on with your position numbering.
A mandala is a geometric design that symbolizes the cosmos. Most mandalas are circular, suggesting wholeness and unity. A circle also has a center around which everything turns.
The flex spread is like a mandala in that it, too, has a center—the main subject position (1). Each flex spread is oriented around a main subject you designate and name before beginning. The main subject can be of any type. It shows a central or key feature of the subject—its essence at the time of the reading. A subject's essence is its heart, so this position goes in the heart of the spread.
The main subject is the only required position in the flex spread. All other positions are optional. In fact, the most basic flex layout consists of just this one position. What could be simpler?
The main subject is the only position that can be of any subject type. For example, you can focus on your health, a problem, or you yourself.
Figure 14. The five areas of a sample flex spread. Numbers show the placement order if all areas are used.
The flex spread has three related subject areas of three different types. These are listed below with their placement order:
related people and groups—below, left to right
related areas of life—left, top to bottom
related situations—above, left to right
A related subject is always interpreted in relation to the main subject and draws its meaning from that association. You can have any number of related subjects, or none at all. You can have several in one area, but just one in another—whatever combination works best. Chapter Eleven gives some examples of flex spreads with various related subject configurations.
If you're not the main subject, I highly recommend designating the leftmost position in the related people/groups area to be a position representing you. This self position will highlight your relationship to the main subject directly.
The Factors and Guidance area is to the right of the main subject. Factors are different from related subjects because factors describe certain qualities of the main subject. They highlight different aspects that may be of interest in a given reading. For example, you can explore such questions as:
What is the main subject avoiding?
What is enduring about the main subject?
What has contributed to the current status of the main subject?
What is stabilizing about the main subject?
The answers to these questions would be suggested by the cards that fall in the appropriate factor positions.
Factor positions are interpreted according to the main subject type. For example, if you are the main subject, the Inside factor shows your inner thoughts and emotions. If an event is the main subject, the Inside factor shows the event's internal dynamics—what's going on inside, or behind the scenes.
In Chapter Eleven, I describe twenty different factor positions. Each is paired with another position that is its opposite. An example is Known and Unknown. A card in the Known position might show what the main subject knows, while the Unknown factor shows what he does not know. It's often interesting to include both factors in a pair so you can compare opposite influences. The placement order for factors is top to bottom, with opposing pairs, if any, placed side by side.
Guidance is a unique position. Every other position shows a neutral, energetic picture of something to do with the main subject. A card in Guidance gives you a point of view coming from the wisdom of your Inner Guide. It's always desirable to include the guidance position, so you can receive this personal assistance. The guidance position is centered below the factors, if any, with some space surrounding it.
MAKE A SUBJECT LIST
Create a list of subjects from your life in each of these categories: other people, groups, areas of life, and situations. See Part Five for sample areas of life. For situations, consider the problems, choices, tasks, and events you are currently involved in. You'll find this list helpful when you go to do a flex spread reading.